Mackenzie Financial Corp Sells 77,158 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Mackenzie Financial Corp trimmed its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 898,336 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 77,158 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $317,975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $30,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 65.2% during the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.3 %

NASDAQ META opened at $500.23 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.67. The firm has a market cap of $1.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $207.13 and a one year high of $531.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $492.26 and its 200-day moving average is $394.61.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $40.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.12 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.00 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 13.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $380.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $375.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $397.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $370.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $430.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.28.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $385.00, for a total transaction of $217,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,286 shares in the company, valued at $13,585,110. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,956 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $5,185,255.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,398 shares in the company, valued at $36,157,645.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $385.00, for a total value of $217,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 35,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,585,110. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,459,469 shares of company stock worth $691,726,161. 14.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.